An attorney for Live Nation, Ticketmaster's parent company, pushed back against the government's claim that it is an "unlawful monopoly," stating in court on Monday that it is a “fierce, lawful competitor” in a “competitive market.”
Live Nation and Ticketmaster “bring enormous joy to people's lives” and “produce great concerts and live events,” attorney David Marriott, who represents the company, said in his opening statements in the antitrust trial at Federal District Court in Manhattan.
The lawsuit, filed in 2024 by the Justice Department and dozens of state attorneys general, as well as Washington, D.C., alleges that Live Nation has illegally dominated the live concert industry by monopolizing ticketing, concert booking, venues and promotions.
The complaint, which was filed in the Southern District of New York, accuses the company of engaging in “anticompetitive conduct” that leads fans to pay more in fees, artists to get fewer opportunities to play concerts and venues to have limited choices for ticketing services.
Ticketmaster has for years been the target of scrutiny by music fans who report frustrations with buying tickets through the platform. Attempts to advocate for ticketing reform have spanned decades.
The rock band Pearl Jam tried to push the issue forward 30 years ago, when its members testified before Congress saying Ticketmaster had refused to agree to low concert ticket prices and fees. The case was dismissed a year later, and Ticketmaster’s dominance has persisted over the decades.
More recently, frustration over Ticketmaster began to boil over when it incurred the wrath of one of the country’s largest fan bases: Swifties, or followers of Taylor Swift.
In his opening statement, David Dahlquist, an attorney for the Department of Justice, pointed to the botched presale ticketing process for Swift's “The Eras” tour as evidence of Live Nation and Ticketmaster being a monopoly.
When tickets for the tour went on sale, the company experienced “system failures,” “outages,” “connection issues” and their web page went down, Dahlquist said. He said the company’s technology is “held together by duct tape.”
Dahlquist argued that this is what happens when one company controls the market, and when fans are forced to use only one product.
He reiterated his claim that the concert and ticketing industry is “broken,” adding that “it's controlled by a monopolist. It's controlled by Live Nation," he said.
Live Nation directly manages more than 400 musical artists and owns or controls more than 265 concert venues in North America. And through Ticketmaster, the DOJ’s lawsuit says, it controls around 80% of major concert venues’ ticketing — as well as a growing share of the resale market.
Live Nation and Ticketmaster have prioritized growth, Dahlquist said, instead of improving and maintaining their systems and the product that fans use.
Marriott, Live Nation's attorney, disagreed with the DOJ’s assertion that there isn't market competition, stating in his testimony that it's actually a “hard-fought battle.”
He said that the company is an “artist-centered business," listing Beyonce, Bad Bunny and Lady Gaga as people the company has worked with in the past.
He also pushed back on the claim that Live Nation/Ticketmaster is at fault for the Swifties' issues, saying they were a result of a cyberattack.
The trial, which began on Monday with jury selection, is expected to last six weeks.
Potential witnesses for the trial include musician Kid Rock (whose real name is Robert Ritchie), Minnesota Timberwolves CEO Matthew Caldwell, Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez and Mumford & Sons keyboard player Ben Lovett.
